Granby Drummer (https://granbydrummer.com/category/voice/letter-to-the-editor/page/21/)
I recently heard a local talk show host suggest that most people cannot name their state representative or senator. If you live in Granby, your state representative and state senators have been in office for a very long time.
This is an extremely important election for the citizens of the State of Connecticut and for our town. For decades, our legislature has spent too much and saved too little to pay for the state’s obligations.
Every fall, school districts receive the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and SAT test scores and use them to measure both the previous year’s success and the long-term trends of their schools. Sadly, Granby did not fare well again.
As a member of the Board of Finance, I know that investments in education and access to healthcare grow our economy and make our state attractive to businesses. As a father, I want my children to find opportunities in Connecticut that make them want to stay in our great state.
Retirees want to see Connecticut do well and we want our children and grandchildren to love this state as much as we do. However, many of us are struggling with finances due to threats to our promised pensions and healthcare benefits.
In 1972 my mother was elected to our state legislature (in Maine), and as a result, awareness of political issues has remained a constant for me. I remember campaigning with her and watching her listen to her future constituents.
As a resident of Granby for the last 15 years, I find it refreshing to have a candidate as dedicated as Amanda Webster running for State Representative in the 62nd District. Amanda continues to impress me by working tirelessly to get to know Granby, Barkhamsted, New Hartford and Hartland residents, and understand the issues that mean the most to them.
I have been very excited to hear news of the proposed Kearns Community Center. In times like these, where there are more and more ways to connect with people online from all around the world, we can still feel isolated and not even know who our neighbors are.
Here’s a big shout out to the steering committee members who are deeply involved in the Kearns Community Center project. They are a highly motivated group of people exploring opportunities for the new center, incorporating young and old alike, while not overlapping with other agencies in our community.
We have seen Bill Simanski in action at the State Capitol working on behalf of our state and our towns in the 62nd District just the way he did in Granby as our First Selectman. Bill was instrumental in avoiding the cost shift of teacher’s pensions onto the towns during the latest budget cycle.